A Chance Encounter
by MovieBuffStarlet
Summary: A retelling of when Angel meets Collins...


Balancing his pickle tub on his hip, Angel grinned as he dodged a flaming piece of paper that came floating down towards him.

From his vantage point (he was standing on the hood of somebody's car), the scene before him really did look incredible. He was surrounded by a sea of people, most were angry…yelling and screaming at this guy who had just shown up in his Range Rover.

It sucks to be a landlord.

The energy of the crowd was magnificent. Hundreds of burning eviction notices were fluttering to the ground…it was actually quite beautiful (if you didn't catch on fire, that is!)

Up on her fire escape, Mimi was smirking down at Angel…a cigarette in hand. She looked so _poised_. Angel briefly considered yelling up at her to tell her how cool she looked….friends do dorky things like that.

Instead, he simply raised his arm and gave her a playful salute with his drumsticks.

_Well, I should go. The cops are probably gonna show up…_

Angel gracefully hopped off the car, slowly weaving his way through the mob as they continued to rant and rave. He was, once again, grinning from ear to ear. It really felt like a fucking _party_!

Eventually, Angel made it to the edge of the crowd. With one last glance back, he broke out. He decided to do some late night drumming. After all, a little extra holiday cash wouldn't hurt.

As Angel walked away, the sound of the crowd was becoming fainter and fainter. A light snow began to fall, collecting in his hair. It was beautiful but _damn_…was it ever cold!

A short time later, Angel finally decided to stop at a street corner. Here, it was completely silent…a drastic contrast to the rowdy mob over where Mimi lived. It was calm over here…and Angel loved it.

Slowly, Angel slipped his drumsticks inside his pickle tub and set it down on the ground. He shrugged off his brown leather backpack and carefully sat down on a box right beside a large trash can. The smell was not too pleasant…

Angel quickly scooped his drumsticks up and flipped the pickle tub over. He sat there for a moment, trying to decide on what to play. It was no use, however. His mind was blank. Angel shivered.

_It's so fucking cold that I can't even think…_

He shrugged, deciding to let the rhythm come naturally. Eyes narrowed in concentration, he began to tap out a simple, basic beat on the pickle tub. As he was playing, his thoughts flashed back to the recent riot over at Mimi's place. Angel grinned a little as he recalled the event. Eventually, the energy that he had felt over there translated into his drumming. This resulted in Angel's hands pounding out a fast, enthusiastic beat….a beat that helped warm his frozen fingers.

Totally lost in the rhythm now, Angel nearly giggled. He bobbed his head, keeping time to the beat. This was _fun_…and he was proud of his little 'mob-inspired piece'.

"Here you go." A female voice said. Seconds later, a coin landed directly on his pickle tub.

Angel snapped his head up. Not even glancing back, the young woman and her companion walked on.

_Alright!! A whole __nickel!_

The street drummer loved this time of year. People were so generous.

Grinning, he snatched up the coin gleefully, putting it into the pocket of his jacket.

"Merry Christmas!" Angel called after them, grinning even harder. He promptly returned to drumming, determined to get that incredible rhythm back...

_Maybe I'll get a dime next time! _

He froze when he heard something, though. This maybe? Angel looked up curiously. Directly across the street from him was a pitch black alleyway. He determined that the sound had came from there.

Angel blinked, feeling somewhat reluctant to go there. He knew the kind of trouble he could run into if he went in that alleyway.

Hearing the cough again caused Angel's curiosity to turn into concern. Somebody sounded sick…or in some _serious_ pain. Clutching his drumsticks and pickle tub close to his body with one arm, he reached over and hitched his backpack over his shoulder. Angel stood up and took a few steps. He paused here, hesitant.

_Should I be doing this??_

Logic told him that it wasn't very smart to go into some strange alleyway at night…_alone_. But he just couldn't help it…

"Hello?" Angel called, cautiously making his way across the street.

When he entered the alleyway, Angel had to squint. In the dim light, he could see a person at the opposite end. A man…sitting on the ground. He was coughing and wheezing into his hand.

Angel's previous apprehension gave away to pity. He picked up his pace, now jogging over to the fallen stranger.

"Oh, my God! You okay, honey??"

THE END ;)

_A/N: I know it wasn't snowing in the movie…I just thought it'd be more romantic._

_(trots off to watch the movie for the 525,600__th__ time)_


End file.
